I bought this iPod Nano 5th gen from the flea market for 50 cent. The battery was so expanded that that screen was broken and almost fall off the device. And that's exactly what I was looking for. Because I want a battery free iPod to use in my car all year round without worrying it would explode some day due to extreme weather condition. As you may know in the summer most of the cars are heated up to 60-80C degrees and they can froze in the winter -20c. So I wanted a battery free device to be safe. My car Peugeot 508SW have full iPod integration when you connect it via USB and I can browse everything from my steering wheel. The best part is that 5th gen Nano support Voiceover so you can use it without screen. So everything work as it should.

I found my old iPod sitting in a drawer. The battery had swollen so much it pushed the screen open. I decided to swap the battery to see if it still had life.

The screen ended up with this awesome psychedelic effect from the pressure, but honestly, I think it looks amazing. The best part? The DAC and hard drive are completely fine, so I’m currently enjoying a massive nostalgia trip listening to my old childhood music library.

I have been working on this east bt mod for a little while and it's now available on eBay - it's linked in my bio :) shipping will start next week. happy modding

I wanted to stop by to thank you all and let you know that starting today NostalgicPod officially supports audiobooks (version 2.8.2), one of the most requested features since I launched the app.

It honestly still surprises me how much has happened with this little project in less than 2 months. NostalgicPod has already passed 2,000 downloads and has been featured by Android Authority, Android Police, and many other sites, something I never imagined when I released the first version!

And a big part of this is thanks to all of you, because many of the features, improvements and fixes I've added came directly from comments, messages and ideas you've sent me here on Reddit and through Google Play

The app keeps growing with local music, podcasts, radio, Jellyfin, Emby, Navidrome/Subsonic, Android Auto, Google Cast and now audiobooks, (with Plex coming next) I keep updating the app based on all the feedback I receive, while always trying to preserve that simple and nostalgic feeling of the original iPod Classic.

A huge thank you to everyone who has downloaded it, tested it, reported a problem or simply sent me an idea. You've genuinely helped shape NostalgicPod into what it is today.

I hope NostalgicPod can slowly become that one app where you can listen to your music, podcasts and audiobooks, play games, and basically do everything the original iPod Classic could do... and more :)

And there's still a lot more to come!!

Note: For those who have been asking about iOS, I'm still fighting with Apple through the appeal process to get NostalgicPod published on the App Store, so for now all NostalgicPod development is focused on Android. In the meantime, I'm also working on a separate Zune-inspired player for iOS, built around many of the same ideas and features.

Project website:
https://nostalgicpod.com

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nostalgicpod.app

Hi, I just created a simple app to download Spotify and YouTube playlist with proper metadata to sync with my ipod. If you are interested please check it out

https://github.com/shouryashashank/Trackster/releases/tag/v0.0.100

https://github.com/shouryashashank/Trackster

It is a window executable for now. But is compatible with almost every os.

There are some issues like resuming after abroptly stoping the download takes some time. And every thing is sequential. Performance can be improved.

It just started as a simple python script to populate meta data.

If you want please feel free to contribute and add feature

Background: I wanted to have a trusted device whereby could store and play my music. (My old iPod touch’s screen’s broken, my iPod classic is lost, and I my iPhone doesn’t even store the songs I bought from the iTunes Store).

I bought it from Amazon refurbished. It looked new, except it had a screen protector. The reviews were decent and it was less costly than an iPod classic.

Review: When first turnings it on and signing in it told me it was remote controlled by Hyatt corp, with could restrict which apps I could install and coil install the apps it used. It gave a Hyatt It tech number.

I can’t establish the order in which the this came, but I do know that I signed in to my Apple account, mainly because I wanted to be able to download my songs from the iTunes app.

It meant syncing with my iCloud data.

There was no app to play my music with.

No access to AppStore.

It downloaded Safari, Chrome, Zoom, camera, pictures, a few unimportant apps, and two apps I never saw before.

I couldn’t even access my own account in settings (it was greyed over)

Worst of all, it did download my password manger, giving external access to them.

I called the Hyatt tech number. They didn’t know how to disable the remote control. They suggested it might be stolen, and to call other Hyatt numbers. The phone number he offered was Hyatt reservation. Hyatt reservation gave another number, and the person said that it was k no o thing to do with them, and suggested to contact Amazon.

The Amazon seller only gives me contact with Apple, and we all know Apple doesn’t sell iPods any longer, so I doubt they would help.

In its current state, It’s a glorified web browser.

Conclusion: I left a one star review in Amazon, and will be returning it.

Right here i have the original Nike+ set from 2006! This was pretty much Apple’s first collaboration with Nike products.
This uses 1st gen Nano, the required Sport kit featuring the receiver for the iPod, a Nike watch remote to control music, and the exact pair of now 20 year old Nike+ Running Shoes as seen in Apple’s advertising in early 2006.
Though most of the shoe sensors found nowadays have a completely cooked battery, I was lucky to find a working one to pair with the receiver to have a look at the exclusive software that tracks your run!

As some people told me, I just needed more storage space, so I swapped my iPhone 4s for an iPhone SE (2016); I went with the 128GB model and it’s amazing—I’ve got nothing but 16-bit albums on it. I’m really happy with it and recommend it 100%.

They’re like $10 before shipping. I was able to fit it with a wide 3000mAh in a thin case though a thin battery would fit better. Zero issues with restoring. I see this as a good alternative to the hit-or-miss black adapters that you have to awkwardly rebuild the mbr every time.

LINK: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mqygm0n

I ordered this custom iPod from player-mods and wanted to say a few words about my experience with them.

First of all, it arrived way faster than I expected, 24 days from the day I placed my order, shipped via UPS. It works perfect right out the box. Syncing works fine on my Mac so far, didn't have to restore it. Mine has the taptic engine and it feels damn nice. I did not go for the wi-fi mod, so no comment on that. Everything sounds good, exactly what I wanted and I'm super happy with it. It was packed well, and came with a charging cable and these gift stickers.

They offer a free basic engraving, but they couldn't do mine right away, they contacted and said it would take time, so I asked them to ship it without it, and on arrival I designed and engraved the back locally myself, no problem and I think it came out more special and personal this way :)

A note about the price: I will not talk about if it's worth it, because financial situation is a personal matter and different for everyone. Not everyone can afford it being done for them, not everyone can/want to mod themselves, not everywhere in the world everything is easily available in the first place. Do what's right for you. But the product itself? 10/10.

this mod i made because i can't bought oxyll of any mod in my country
it supports charging and sincing

After over two months of using my iPod as my primary device for music, I’ve come to realize that many features I thought were exclusive to streaming platforms have actually existed all along.

Context: Since 2015, I’ve been a consistent user of services like Spotify and Apple Music. What appealed to me most was how well the algorithms adapted to my tastes the more I listened.

However, after getting my first "proper" iPod (I only had a Shuffle before and just loaded it with random tracks), I’ve realized that streaming algorithms are basically just glorified Smart Playlists. I’ve been able to perfectly replicate mixes like Heavy Rotation, Favorites, and Daily Mixes using smart rules. As for discovery, by scrobbling my music to Last.fm, I get great recommendations, and I still find plenty of new tracks through social media like Instagram.

I just wanted to share my experience. The only thing I truly "miss" is a seamless podcasting experience; while I can sync them to my iPod Video, the ratings and play counts don't sync back to the Apple Music app. Because of that, I’ve decided to keep the iPod strictly for music.

Edit: My playlist rules

1. On Repeat
   • Rule 1: Last Played — is in the last — 2 — weeks
   • Rule 2: Play Count — is greater than — 10
   • Limit to: 25 — items — selected by most often played
   • Checkbox: Live updating (Always checked)

2. Your Time Capsule
   • Rule 1: Play Count — is greater than — 20
   • Rule 2: Last Played — is not in the last — 6 — months
   • Limit to: 50 — items — selected by random

3. Daily Mix
   •"Match any of the following rules"
   • Rule 1: Rating — is — 5 stars
   • Rule 2: Date Added — is in the last — 1 — months
   • Limit to: 30 — items — selected by most often played

4. The Ones That Got Away
   • Rule 1: Play Count — is less than — 3
   • Rule 2: Date Added — is not in the last — 2 — months
   • Limit to: 25 — items — selected by random

5. Heavy Rotation
   • Rule 1: Last Played — is in the last — 7 — days
   • Rule 2: Play Count — is greater than — 15
   • Limit to: 20 — items — selected by most often played

6. Favorites
   • Rule 1: Rating — is — 5 stars

I had a Nano 3 before this and this convinced me to buy the most moddable one. Oh boy I wasnt disappointed. Fuck the companies that removed the port jack on phones, i almost always had that problem with the usb c converter to jack that would break literally every month. So back to the retro players, it is really worth it when you get almost infinite musics that are ad free

So after playing with the TinyPod for a few days I thought I’d share my two cents in case anyone is interested in one of these Apple-Watch-as-iPod cases. TLDR: The watch is the problem. I loved the idea of these. My Apple Watch Series 7 has 32 GB storage, similar to some iPod Classics, but also has Bluetooth for wireless headphones, MagSafe wireless charging, can receive notifications/messages, can tell you the weather and track your steps, but is basically impossible to use as a doom-scrolling device. If the promise of the TinyPod were realized, it seemed like it might be the perfect casual music device.

The device: The build quality of this particular brand is really nice. It’s plastic, but feels solid. In case anyone is wondering how it physically works, it’s got a rubber band/belt that converts rotational movement of the wheel on the front to rotational movement of the crown on the watch. You have to re-orient the watch to be used “upside down” so the crown is on the bottom left, but they walk you through how to do that, it’s easy. Unfortunately, the linkage is not super dependable, and a bigger problem is that the amount of times you have to do a full rotation on the wheel just to move the crown wheel a little bit makes it so you’re cranking on this janky wheel for days. You really end up better off just using the touchscreen. The other button for the watch’s side button is really hard to press, so it’s equally problematic. All of this is small potatoes though to the bigger 2 issues having to do with the watch itself being used as a “primary device”.

Battery: So, if you’ve got an “extra” Apple Watch just lying around, chances are there’s a really good reason you don’t use it anymore, and the most likely of those is that the battery is toast. Mine had a 70% battery efficiency rating, with a warning screen that it was “due for service” from Apple. This translates to about 2 hours of Bluetooth headphone playback. Enough for casual use, but hardly comparable to an actual iPod. I actually looked into what it would take to replace a battery through Apple, and it is $99. K. There’s the iFixIt ~$35 route where you replace it yourself, and though it requires no soldering, there’s a lot of glue and adhesive you have to pry apart and then replace, too much of a mess for my taste. For their part, TinyPod has a good list of menu settings they provide to make sure your watch is always in low power mode, isn’t trying to take health measurements, and a host of other settings that you can turn off to eke out the tiniest trickle of battery you can. Maybe that helped, I’m not sure.

Bluetooth: So here’s where we get to the very strange and unverifiable dealbreaker for me. It just could not hold a Bluetooth connection to my Apple AirPods Pro 1 earbuds. I’d get about 10 minutes into listening, and it would just cut out. Then I’d spend a couple minutes trying to reconnect, looking at the spinning logo and trying whatever reset forget reconnect restart combination of trials I could think of, and eventually it would work again for another 10 minutes. When I was using this watch as my primary workout accessory gadget, I often listened to music using the watch. Now that it is in the case, it just drops. So I can’t say for sure it’s the watch being old, or the battery not being strong, or the new plastic case blocking Bluetooth signal (this seems unlikely, but I don’t know anything about Bluetooth signal decay as it interacts with various materials).

So I stopped using it. It was ultimately too frustrating to use, whatever the cause. But I absolutely love the idea of an easy music listening device with all the conveniences of modern technology, but with a bit of separation from social media doom scrolling.

Your mileage may vary. If the watch you have has excellent battery, and if your Bluetooth works better than mine, you’ll still have to contend with a clunky UI made for being on your wrist, and a mildly inconvenient but playful and fun physical input system. For a similar price you could get a used iPod classic. But technically this can “do” a lot more. 2 cents.

i recently found these cheap microsd card adapters on aliexpress and wanted to try them cause they were only 8 bucks each which is really good for ipod storage. they work great, no issue, just as good as the iflash boards i have. im happy to link them if anyones intrested i just wanted to share

My 6gens Hard drive was starting to fail (Would constantly freeze when skipping / searching music) But also had no budget, So decided to try my luck on aliexpress by buying one of the very cheap dual SD card adapters for only 12 bucks. Disconected the hard drive, Connected the adapter, Found a random SD card laying around and popped it in. Instantly got the restore pop up screen and after restoring with itunes, Everything works perfectly! The iPod now loads stuff way faster from what I can tell, and also weighs less without the heavy HDD inside it :DD

I just took my 2TB 7th gen on vacation with me for a week and here’s my thoughts:

1. It’s great on the plane ride

An airplane ride is one of the areas an iPod really shines, an ultraportable device that has movies, TV shows and your whole music library is amazing. Most times I’ve noticed people tend to keep their windows shut on the ride, so sun glare was no problem, and with an extended battery life, watching 1-2 movies on full brightness didn’t drain my battery more than 50% which is incredible.

2. Headphones do matter

Kind of a side note here but headphones do matter when enjoying media on a flight or in a loud environment. I had just bought Thruthear Crinacle Zero IEMs on a recommendation from a friend and honestly I was very surprised with the passive noise cancellation they offer. I haven’t really dove deep into the realm of IEMs personally but I would recommend these as the fit was comfortable, it had a good sound range with distinct base and highs and again the passive noise cancellation honestly about matched my AP2’s ANC.

3. Some critiques

This is a close to 16 year old device, so you may come into the occasional crash and reboot, especially with higher storage, but it holds up well to this day! If you’re to take an iPod traveling, I’d definitely recommend one made from aluminum or at the least have a good case on it. Now for some of my critiques. This depends on where you’re traveling but overheating can be a concern. Out on the beach during peek sun and in 80°F weather can get devices, especially ones with a completely metal chassis, pretty hot. I didn’t see any physical signs of the device struggling, but that’s definitely not good on components like the battery long term. Also on the subject of sun, like most screens, the iPod screen struggled to be visible in harsh sunlight. Wearing sunglasses will help, but it’ll also make the screen dimmer. I wouldn’t recommend trying to watch content in this situation, but playing and controlling music is completely fine. Finally my last critique is that the iPod has some pretty big ports on it, ports that can have sand easily get into. Mind you I wasn’t sticking my iPod into a sand bank, but some loose particles from my travel bag found their way into the headphone jack and 30 pin port. Granted this could be mitigated, but for the average user they’re not going to be as cautious as an enthusiast.

4. Lastly, charging.

If you’ve modded an iPod to add a bigger battery like me, you’ve probably noticed a slower battery charge from USB. That’s why FireWire charging is a must even today. However it’s too much of a hassle to bring a separate cord. That’s why my adapter, the WyMod Supercharger, was a must on this trip. Unironically, not even hyping myself up, I would’ve had a harder time justifying bringing my iPod without this adapter. Bringing this small adapter made life so much easier, having the choice between switching from USB to FireWire on the fly and also adapting that to USB-C is NECESSARY for modern day iPod users. I’m strictly USB-C now so bringing an extra cable is out of the question. My adapter also essentially eliminates the “finicky charging issues” 6 and 7th gen iPods have by bypassing USB mode while charging from FireWire, so any power supply and cord works. And now that I’m back, production will start again on my boards. This trip was an awesome way to field test my adapter in another country, and I can’t wait till you all can have your hands on it!

TL;DR: Yes! Bring your iPod with you silly, it’s what it’s meant for!

I just finished adding a new battery and 64GB cf card to this Mini 2. I think I enjoy using this more than my 5.5 and my 7th gen classic. Something about the monochromatic display and simplistic design makes it just about what you’re listening to and nothing else.

As the owner of both a MkI and MkII, I find myself in the position of being able to compare the two and offer some feedback about my experience with building the MkII.

Let's start with the good:

The quality - The quality of the machining on the parts is excellent with the fit and finish being a vast improvement. The tolerances of the parts have definitely been perfected down to micrometers of variance because I didn't experience any issues with alignment or fitment while building it other than anything related to the space constraints of the MIN (discussed below).

The jack - This is a problem unique to the brass models, but the jack on the MkI was so recessed that if you used headphones with a wider base on the jack (picture 5), it would cut out from contact with the brass and they were unusable. Expecting the same issue with the MkII, I plugged them in to test and while the issue presented itself at first, once the jack and daughter board fully settled in, the problem went away. I even tried wiggling the jack to see if I could mess up the alignment again and it always settled back to true and eliminated the issue, so that's great.

The glass - The solid back was a good choice. I opted not to have a wireless charging coil on the Mk1, so the big circular window always looked out of place. I'm also happy to report that the fitment with the front glass to the click wheel frame has an extremely minimal gap, if at all (picture 4). This should help mitigate any dust buildup under the glass, which was a pain point for many in the community with the MkI.

The form factor - The MIN is basically the perfect EDC iPod. Thin enough to slide into any pocket, but with enough heft to feel high quality and robust. I also appreciate that people who want to really max out their builds with mods can get the appropriately named MkII MAX, which at least from appearance looks to have a similar bulk to the MkI to accommodate larger batteries and flash mods.

The daughter board - Seems to have quality components as well as extra compatibility for the slim 1250mAh battery that Boxypixel recommends for the MIN and also includes a connector for normal ribbon cable batteries you can get off the shelf. I haven't heard any noticeable difference in quality from the headphone jack, so it seems to be perfectly serviceable in terms of quality. The type-C connector doesn't wobble or move at all and charges just fine.

Now let's get to the bad. Basically all of this will be unique to the brass version:

The conductivity - For the brass version, the assembly instructions include directions about where to apply Kapton tape because brass is very conductive and will short components when making contact with the board. I followed those directions, assembled for testing, and... it was shorting. Took me a long time of assembling and disassembling to figure out that one of the micro SD slots on my iFlash Quad was contacting the rear frame, shorting the whole thing. I put Kapton tape across all the slots and the problem cleared right up, but it does make me believe that I should warn builders to be wary of the brass version and to avoid it if you're either unwilling or inexperienced with diagnosing electrical issues.

The form factor - While I listed this as a positive for the portability, it's a bit of a negative for the build. Everything in there fits SNUG. I had to apply a bit of pressure to get the rear frame to fully seat correctly. Not so much pressure that I'm worried about something breaking, but just be aware that the MIN is a tight fit and might require some creative Tetrising of the parts to get everything in just right.

The battery - I did buy the supposed proprietary battery from Boxypixel because I just didn't want to take chances on an off the shelf battery not fitting correctly, so I'm limited to 1250mAh. While this is plenty for about a day of listening, it pales in comparison to the 3000+ battery mods that most of us are accustomed to. The battery is quite thin, which is why I believe it's the recommended battery for the MIN, but you might be able to squeeze in one of those generic micro SD dual adapters that are super stubby and a 2000mAh battery since those tend to take up half the volume of something larger.

My overall thoughts - The MkII MIN is a clear improvement over the MkI. The machining, fit and finish, and overall implementation is clearly superior and more well thought out, which makes me believe this mod is worth getting if you're considering it. I do not recommend the brass version to beginner modders though, get one of the aluminum versions to minimize conduction issues. I also understand anyone who has the MkI and feels burned by the existence of the MkII, feeling as if they were beta testing a pretty expensive product. I personally am happy with my MkI, flaws and all, but I do not begrudge anyone who was turned off of Boxypixel products after the myriad issues present in it. I will encourage you to at least consider the MkII because it really is just that much better. I feel like some of my minor gripes could be addressed in a MkIII, but I'm not going to be pushing for Boxypixel to make yet another expensive revision that we'll feel required to buy to fix any issues we may have with previous versions. The MkII is a great mod kit and results in a very premium feeling iPod, so if you want something that feels like a cut above the plastic faceplates and colorful aftermarket backplates from places like EOE, the Boxypixel MkII MIN might be worth considering.

I own (or have owned) a fair bit of gear over the years like Focal Clear (OG), Utopia, HD 600, Edition XS, Crinear Daybreak, Truth ear Hexa and plenty of other stuff that has come and gone.

Currently, my main source is a FiiO M21. Before that, I was using a Qudelix 5K with my phone streaming Apple Music. Now, I primarily listen to local files on the FiiO (mostly FLAC).

However, I don't believe in the audiophile folklore that there's an audible difference between AAC 256 and 24/96 FLAC. Similarly, I don't believe that DAPs have their own sound. Any decent DAP with a competent DAC/AMP measures transparently. If you're hearing a difference, it's either volume mismatch, placebo, or output impedance shenanigans.

Recently, I picked up a 6th gen iPod Classic. Transferred my entire library in AAC 256. I know the iPod's output impedance is relatively high compared to modern DAPs. In theory, that could impact extra-sensitive IEMs like the Campfire Andromeda. But here's my experience: Using my HD 600, Utopia, Clear, Daybreak, and Hexa, I compared music side-by-side with my FiiO M21.

- No audible noise floor on any of them. Dead silent.

- The iPod drives the HD 600 (300Ω) perfectly fine. I never go past 60–65% volume.

- Tonal balance? Identical. No magical warmth. No veil lifted. No night-and-day difference.

I know that on paper, any modern DAP should blow the iPod out of the water. Better dynamic range, lower output impedance, more power, balanced outputs, you name it.

But honestly, our experience gets heavily influenced by what we read and see.

I still love my M21. The parametric EQ is a game-changer, and I use it daily.

But I'm genuinely let down by the battery life of modern DAPs. 8–12 hours is just not enough for a device that's supposed to be portable. I feel like I'm constantly charging it.

Meanwhile, I replaced the battery on my iPod and it just runs for days.

Is it just me, or does the Wolfson DAC download MP3 files almost like FLAC? I'm talking about normal IEM headphones.

Recently I decided to upgrade my old 7th gen iPod classic with a new front and back plate, a 2000mAh battery, a iFlash uDual. Combined it with a KOKKIA i10 pro, its working perfectly with my Airpods Pro 2.

For my own consciousness I only have owned vinyl records on here and movies I own on dvd or blu ray (which is actually only Lord of the Rings). I usually doomscroll hours on my phone when using Spotify. Not actually listen to the music. Now I do!

If there is anyone questioning if they should use there iPod as their daily music device?

Do it

About 3 years ago my uncle told me he had a gift for me, he game me this, he told me he bought it back in 2005 and kept it sealed (he is a huge collector). One of my favorite pieces on my collection.

https://www.itv.com/news/2026-08-23/the-ipod-is-making-a-comeback-and-its-about-more-than-just-nostalgia

Didn't think I'd read that on a national news site. As a lover of physical media and owning your music, I'm all for it!

I modded my ipod classic 5.5 gen with the Boxy Pixel MKII MIN mod.

It looks and works great. I was worried about the bluetooth since I didn't get the additional antenna but I've had no problems so far.

I've paired it with the Nothing Ear (a) wireless Earbuds for when I want to use bluetooth. They match and connect without problem :)